Denmark refuses to recognize Fatah's terrorism

In direct response to a Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) report revealing how the Fatah faction actively promotes terror, Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen refused to reassess the Palestinian group as not being "moderate."

PMW announced on Thursday that earlier this month it sent an open letter and a report, which can be seen here, to Jensen revealing how Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah faction incites terror.

That action was taken after Jensen said in the Danish Parliament that a specific example of terror glorification by a Fatah official did not represent the entire organization. His words seemed to imply that if Fatah or the PA did in fact glorify terror, Denmark would "reassess" their "moderate" categorization.

Losing no time, PMW sent their report clearly proving that Fatah and its senior leaders regularly incite terror and glorify those who murder Israelis.

But in response, the Danish Foreign Ministry chose to ignore the report and issued a general statement condemning violence. When pressed for comment on specific examples, the ministry simply responded: "we have nothing more to contribute."

The reason given by the ministry for not commenting on the report or reassessing Fatah's standing was that it "does not share the interpretation" by PMW that Jensen indicated Fatah would be reassessed if it promoted terror.

Jensen's statements came on January 22, when he said he "opposes" a statement by Fatah official Abbas Zaki promoting terror, but claimed Fatah is "moderate" while noting Zaki is "a Fatah member residing in Lebanon, who is not considered to have spoken on behalf of Fatah, the PLO, the Palestinian Authority or the Palestinian government."

"The statement does not give the (Danish) government any reason to reconsider the assessment of Fatah and the movement's leader, President Abbas," said Jensen.

In light of the comments, PMW sent its report showing Jensen that Zaki's comments did indeed represent the views of Fatah, PLO and the PA.

Equating "both sides"

However, instead of reassessing its view of Fatah, the Danish Foreign Ministry merely issued a general statement, saying it "firmly condemns the terror attacks and violence from all sides and in any circumstances. We call on political leaders to work together through visible actions to contribute to calm and address the underlying causes of the tensions."

"We urge all parties to refrain from any action that would worsen the situation by way of incitement or provocation. (We) call on the parties to condemn attacks when they occur and adhere strictly to the principles of necessity and proportionality in the use of force. We call on both sides to jointly and resolutely fight incitement and hate speech," added the statement.

By addressing "both sides," the Danish ministry created a false symmetry in actions and culpability, and never directly addressed Fatah's incitement to terror.

There was only one direct mention of the Palestinians, which encouraged them to "engage in good faith" so as to reach statehood. The statement expressed concern about internal PA relations and apparently called for unification with Hamas, rather than condemn the terrorism against Israel.

"We urge all Palestinian factions to engage in good faith in the reconciliation process which is an important element for reaching the two state solution. The positive results of the past must not be lost and Palestinian institutions must continue to grow stronger, more transparent, more accountable and more democratic. In this regard we call upon the Palestinian government to work towards genuine and democratic elections for all Palestinians."

The statement added that Danish aid focuses on "state-building, including at the local level, and on promoting human rights."

In conclusion, the ministry statement said, "the increased threat from extremist, militant groups in parts of the Arab/Muslim world makes the need for progress on the Middle East peace process all the more urgent as the unresolved conflict is used as a recruitment tool in the propaganda of such groups."

However, NGO Monitor last December revealed to the Danish government that the supposedly humanitarian funds they are handing over to local NGOs are actually advancing anti-peace agendas and the destruction of Israel.